Confronting compositional confusion through the characterisation of the sub-Neptune orbiting HD 77946

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Palethorpe, L., John, A. Anna, Mortier, A., Davoult, J., Wilson, T. G., Rice, K., Cameron, A. C., Alibert, Y., Buchhave, L. A., Malavolta, L., Cadman, J., López-Morales, M., Dumusque, X., Silva, A. M., Quinn, S. N., Van Eylen, V., Vissapragada, S., Affer, L., Charbonneau, D., Cosentino, R., Ghedina, A., Haywood, R. D., Latham, D. W., Lienhard, F., Fiorenzano, A. F. Martínez, Pedani, M., Pepe, F., Pinamonti, M., Sozzetti, A., Stalport, M., Udry, S., Vanderburg, A.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Palethorpe, L.
John, A. Anna
Mortier, A.
Davoult, J.
Wilson, T. G.
Rice, K.
Cameron, A. C.
Alibert, Y.
Buchhave, L. A.
Malavolta, L.
Cadman, J.
López-Morales, M.
Dumusque, X.
Silva, A. M.
Quinn, S. N.
Van Eylen, V.
Vissapragada, S.
Affer, L.
Charbonneau, D.
Cosentino, R.
Ghedina, A.
Haywood, R. D.
Latham, D. W.
Lienhard, F.
Fiorenzano, A. F. Martínez
Pedani, M.
Pepe, F.
Pinamonti, M.
Sozzetti, A.
Stalport, M.
Udry, S.
Vanderburg, A.
author_facet Palethorpe, L.
John, A. Anna
Mortier, A.
Davoult, J.
Wilson, T. G.
Rice, K.
Cameron, A. C.
Alibert, Y.
Buchhave, L. A.
Malavolta, L.
Cadman, J.
López-Morales, M.
Dumusque, X.
Silva, A. M.
Quinn, S. N.
Van Eylen, V.
Vissapragada, S.
Affer, L.
Charbonneau, D.
Cosentino, R.
Ghedina, A.
Haywood, R. D.
Latham, D. W.
Lienhard, F.
Fiorenzano, A. F. Martínez
Pedani, M.
Pepe, F.
Pinamonti, M.
Sozzetti, A.
Stalport, M.
Udry, S.
Vanderburg, A.
contents We report on the detailed characterization of the HD 77946 planetary system. HD 77946 is an F5 ($M_*$ = 1.17 M$_{\odot}$, $R_*$ = 1.31 R$_{\odot}$) star, which hosts a transiting planet recently discovered by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), classified as TOI-1778 b. Using TESS photometry, high-resolution spectroscopic data from HARPS-N, and photometry from CHEOPS, we measure the radius and mass from the transit and RV observations, and find that the planet, HD 77946 b, orbits with period $P_{\rm b}$ = $6.527282_{-0.000020}^{+0.000015}$ d, has a mass of $M_{\rm b} = 8.38\pm{1.32}$M$_\oplus$, and a radius of $R_{\rm b} = 2.705_{-0.081}^{+0.086}$R$_\oplus$. From the combination of mass and radius measurements, and the stellar chemical composition, the planet properties suggest that HD 77946 b is a sub-Neptune with a $\sim$1\% H/He atmosphere. However, a degeneracy still exists between water-world and silicate/iron-hydrogen models, and even though interior structure modelling of this planet favours a sub-Neptune with a H/He layer that makes up a significant fraction of its radius, a water-world composition cannot be ruled out, as with $T_{\rm eq} = 1248^{+40}_{-38}~$K, water may be in a supercritical state. The characterisation of HD 77946 b, adding to the small sample of well-characterised sub-Neptunes, is an important step forwards on our journey to understanding planetary formation and evolution pathways. Furthermore, HD 77946 b has one of the highest transmission spectroscopic metrics for small planets orbiting hot stars, thus transmission spectroscopy of this key planet could prove vital for constraining the compositional confusion that currently surrounds small exoplanets.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_04464
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Confronting compositional confusion through the characterisation of the sub-Neptune orbiting HD 77946
Palethorpe, L.
John, A. Anna
Mortier, A.
Davoult, J.
Wilson, T. G.
Rice, K.
Cameron, A. C.
Alibert, Y.
Buchhave, L. A.
Malavolta, L.
Cadman, J.
López-Morales, M.
Dumusque, X.
Silva, A. M.
Quinn, S. N.
Van Eylen, V.
Vissapragada, S.
Affer, L.
Charbonneau, D.
Cosentino, R.
Ghedina, A.
Haywood, R. D.
Latham, D. W.
Lienhard, F.
Fiorenzano, A. F. Martínez
Pedani, M.
Pepe, F.
Pinamonti, M.
Sozzetti, A.
Stalport, M.
Udry, S.
Vanderburg, A.
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
We report on the detailed characterization of the HD 77946 planetary system. HD 77946 is an F5 ($M_*$ = 1.17 M$_{\odot}$, $R_*$ = 1.31 R$_{\odot}$) star, which hosts a transiting planet recently discovered by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), classified as TOI-1778 b. Using TESS photometry, high-resolution spectroscopic data from HARPS-N, and photometry from CHEOPS, we measure the radius and mass from the transit and RV observations, and find that the planet, HD 77946 b, orbits with period $P_{\rm b}$ = $6.527282_{-0.000020}^{+0.000015}$ d, has a mass of $M_{\rm b} = 8.38\pm{1.32}$M$_\oplus$, and a radius of $R_{\rm b} = 2.705_{-0.081}^{+0.086}$R$_\oplus$. From the combination of mass and radius measurements, and the stellar chemical composition, the planet properties suggest that HD 77946 b is a sub-Neptune with a $\sim$1\% H/He atmosphere. However, a degeneracy still exists between water-world and silicate/iron-hydrogen models, and even though interior structure modelling of this planet favours a sub-Neptune with a H/He layer that makes up a significant fraction of its radius, a water-world composition cannot be ruled out, as with $T_{\rm eq} = 1248^{+40}_{-38}~$K, water may be in a supercritical state. The characterisation of HD 77946 b, adding to the small sample of well-characterised sub-Neptunes, is an important step forwards on our journey to understanding planetary formation and evolution pathways. Furthermore, HD 77946 b has one of the highest transmission spectroscopic metrics for small planets orbiting hot stars, thus transmission spectroscopy of this key planet could prove vital for constraining the compositional confusion that currently surrounds small exoplanets.
title Confronting compositional confusion through the characterisation of the sub-Neptune orbiting HD 77946
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.04464